Refrigerating apparatus



Patented Dec. 29, 1936 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Harry F. Smith, Dayton, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to General Motors Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application July 30, 1931, Serial No. 554,060 Renewed May 3, 1935 24 Claims. (01. 62-126) This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to shelves for supporting ice trays within a refrigerator cabinet.

In household refrigerator cabinets which are provided with some form of mechanical refrigeration, there are provided means for freezing ice cubes within ice trays and this means is usually located within a portion of the cooling unit. In order to freeze the ice cubes within the. ice trays,

lo freezing shelves are ordinarily employed. Much trouble has been had with formation of a bond of frost and ice upon the shelf which binds the tray to the shelf. This bond of frost and ice between the shelf and the tray, often makes it very diflicult to release the tray from the shelf. This is particularly difficult sometimes because the entire bottom of the tray is often frozen to the shelf and in attempting to remove the tray, this entire sheet of frost and ice must be broken at the same time.

Accordingly, the objects of my invention include the provision of means for facilitating the breaking of the tray from the shelf and, more particularly, to provide facilities for gradually breaking the frost and ice bond between the tray and the shelf.

More particularly, it is an object of my invention to provide a thin ice tray shelf which can be readily flexed so as to easily break the ice o bond between the shelf and'ice tray.

A still further object is to provide a flexible ice tray support which in itself provides a refrigerant container.

Another object of my invention is to provide 7 .173 an improved cooling unit having a refrigerating surface for cooling food and a freezing surface for freezing or congealing substances, which freezing surface is supported by the refrigerating surface in such a manner that there is little heat conducted from either one of the surfaces to the other.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accom- 4 3 panying drawing, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view along the line l-| of Fig. 2 of a cooling unit embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the cooling unit with rear shield removed.

For the purpose of illustrating my inven- 5 5 tion, I have disclosed in the drawing a cooling unit adapted to be connected to a refrigerant liquefying unit of the absorption type having a reservoir 2| which is supplied with liquid refrigerant through the conduit 22. This reservoir 2! is surrounded by an insulating material 38 which is enclosed within sheet metalwalls 39. The cooling unit is provided with a U-shaped hollow refrigerant'sheet metal member 23 which provides cooling surfaces for cooling the air within the refrigerator cabinet and which encloses a freezing compartment -24. The hollow refrigerant member is formed of a pair. of sheets of metal which are sealed together and provided with spaced apart projections so as to provide refrigerant passages therebetween. The freezing compartment 24 is closed at the rear by a sheet metal member 40. The bottom portion of the U-shaped wall provides a fiat portion 25 which serves as a shelf for .an ice tray. A second shelf 26 is provided for supporting a second ice tray 34.

According to my present invention, I have anchored this second shelf 26 to the rear portion of the U-shaped wall 23 as is more clearly shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig.2, this shelf 26 .is provided with projections 21 and 28 which are fastened to the rear portion of the side walls of the U-shaped member 23 of the cooling unit by welding, riveting, or other suitable means. The projections 21 and 28 are ofsuitable horizontal width, preferably about one to two inches wide, to normally maintain shelf 26 in a rigid horizontal position and in the same horizontal plane with the projections 21 and 28. This shelf 26 is preferably constructed of a pair of spaced sheets of metal providing a refrigerant container or passages therebetween. A refrigerant conduit 29 extends downwardly from the reservoir 2| and feeds the spaces in the walls of the U-shaped member 23 of the cooling unit and has a branch conduit 30 extending upwardly which supplies refrigerant to the hollow shelf 26. Refrigerant vapor is removed from the hollow shelf 26 by a conduit 3| which extends up into the upper portion of the reservoir 2l. The projections 2! and 28 and the refrigerant ducts 30 and 3| form the entire support for the hollow shelf 26. The portion of the shelf extending forward from the projections 21 and 28 is spaced from the walls of the freezing chamber so that the shelf is in effect a cantilever beam.

By having the greater portion ofthe shelf spaced from the hollow refrigerant walls of the Ushaped member, heat and cold does not easily pass from one to the other of these members.

This construction allows the hollow refrigerant walls of the U-shaped member to be warmed by any suitable means such as by the air in the food storage compartment so that it defrosts during the heating period of the'system, in the case of employing the evaporator or cooling unit in conjunction with a refrigerating system of the absorption type, while the shelf 26 is protected by a coating of frost which keeps the ice in the tray from melting; This feature is likewise advantageous when the evaporator is used in conjunction with a refrigerant liquefying and circulating unit of the compressor-condenser-expander type in that if desired the unit may be rendered inoperative for a period of time sufflcient to permit the food storage compartment cooling surfaces of the evaporator to be completely defrosted without materially affecting the temperature of the ice tray or receptacle supported within the freezing zone or compartment. Thus the temperature of the contents of a tray or receptacle disposed on the support within the freezing compartment is prevented from increasing materially and 'such contents after once being frozen remains in a frozen condition during periodic defrosting of the food storage compartment cooling surfaces of the evaporator. Furthermore the provision of spacing the greater portion of the refrigerating shelf from the food storage compartment cooling surfaces of the evaporator permits defrosting of these surfaces of the evaporator in much less time than if the shelf was in contact with these surfaces throughout substantially the entire length thereof. Preferably, a door 4| closes the front end of the freezing compartment 24 to prevent the warm air of the food storage compartment from having access thereto.

According to my invention, the hollow shelf 26 is somewhat flexible. The sheets of metal which make up the hollow shelf 26 are comparatively thin and relatively close together so that the shelf may be bent upwardly or downwardly, without great effort. While a special handle may be provided for flexing the shelf, the preferred means comprises the handle 34 at the front of the ice tray 32, which may be used to bend the shelf 26 downwardly as a cantilever beam so that the ice bond between the tray and the shelf is broken. Upon grasping the handle 34 and forcing tray 32 downwardly the shelf 26 is gradually curved between the stationarily mounted rear end and the front end thereof. This gradually bending and curving of shelf 26 is effected due to the relative wide projections 21 and 28 which tend to stiffen or maintain the rear half of shelf 26 in a horizontal position while the front half of shelf 26 is being forced downward. The stiffening eflect produced by making the projections 21 and 28 relatively wide is highly desirable so that the mounting point of the shelf will not act as a loose hinge and permit the shelf 26 to be lowered without being gradually curved or flexed. In this way the ice tray is literally peeled off of the shelf or the shelf is peeled from the ice tray and the ice bond therebetween broken a minute area at the front or at the rear of the shelf or tray at a time, with much less trouble and with much less force than if it were necessary to break the entire bond at one time. To prevent the shelf 26 from being flexed a greater amount than is desirable, stop pins 36 project outwardly from the side walls 23 of the cooling unit adjacent the front portion thereof. These stop pins limit the bending of the shelf of the shelf.

and so prevent injuries to the shelf which might occur because of excessive bending.

If desired cam or lever arrangements acting directly. on the shelf and independent of the ice tray may be provided in order to flex the shelf.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including a shelf for supporting an ice tray, said shelf being flexible, and manually actuated means for moving the tray to flex the shelf to release the tray from the shelf bythe flexing thereof.

2. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including a shelf for supporting an ice tray, said shelf being flexible, manually actuated meansfor moving the tray to flex the shelf to release the tray from the shelf by the flexing thereof, and means for limiting the flexing of the shelf.

3. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including a shelf for supporting an ice tray, said shelf being supported at one end, said shelf being flexible, and manually actuated means for moving the tray to flex theshelf to release the ice tray from the shelf by the flexing thereof.

4. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including heat exchange means for cooling air, a flexible shelf supported within a portion of the cooling unit for supporting an ice tray, said shelf having refrigerant passages in heat exchange relation therewith for freezing ice within the ice tray, and manually actuated means for moving the tray to flex the shelf to release the tray from the shelf by the flexing thereof.

' 5. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including heat exchange means for cooling air, a flexible shelf supported within a portion of the cooling unit for supporting an ice tray, said shelf having refrigerant passages in heat exchange relation therewith for freezing ice within the ice tray, manually actuated means for moving the tray in flex the shelf to release the tray from the shelf by the flexing thereof, and means for controlling the flexing of the shelf.

6. A cooling unit for refrigerating .apparatus including heat exchange means for cooling air, a flexible shelf for supporting an ice tray, said shelf being supported at one end by a portion of the cooling unit, said shelf having refrigerant passages for freezing ice within the ice tray, and manually actuated means for moving the tray to flex the shelf to release the tray from the shelf by the flexing thereof.

-7. In a refrigerating apparatus of the character described, a shelf for supporting an ice tray thereon, means for refrigerating said shelf, said shelf being formed of thin heat exchange material of suflicient flexibility to break the ice bond between same and the ice tray by flexing 8. In a refrigerating apparatus of the character described, a shelf forming a refrigerant container and forming a support for an ice tray, said shelf being formed of thin heat exchange material of suficient flexibility to break the ice bond between same and the ice tray by flexing of the shelf.

9. In a refrigerating apparatus of the character described, a shelf for supporting an ice tray thereon, said shelf comprising sheet metal portions joined to provide a refrigerant container,

said sheet metal portions being of thin heat exchange material of suflicient flexibility to break the ice bond between the 1% tray supporting surface thereof and the ice tray by flexing of the shelf.

10. A cooling unit for household refrigerating purposes and the like in which a freezing temperature is desired for quickly freezing or congealing a substance and in which a higher temperature is desired for cooling a food storage compartment comprising in combination, means providing refrigerating surface for the food storage compartment, a freezing shelf supported by said refrigerating surface but having the greater portion of its edge spaced therefrom for preventing the freezing shelf from being affected by changes in temperature of said refrigerating surface, said shelf being adapted to support an ice tray, and means for supplying a volatile refrigerant to said freezing shelf and into direct contact with said refrigerating surface.

11. A cooling unit for household refrigerating purposes and the like in which a'freezing temperature is desired for quickly freezing or congealing a substance and in which a higher temperature is desired for cooling a food storage compartment comprising in combination, means providing refrigerating surface for the food storage compartment, a hollow. freezing shelf forming a refrigerant container for supporting an ice tray and freezing the contents thereof, said shelf being supported by said refrigerating surface but having the greater portion of its edge spaced therefrom for preventing the freezing shelf from being affected by changes in temperature of said refrigerating surface, and means for supplying a volatile refrigerant to said freezing shelf and into direct contact with said refrigerating surface.

12. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including a shelf for supporting an ice tray, said shelf being sufliciently flexible to permit flexing thereof, and manually actuated means carried by the ice tray for simultaneously moving the ice tray and the shelf to flex the shelf and to release the tray from the shelf by the flexing thereof.

13. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including a-support for supporting a receptacle adapted to contain a substance to be congealed or frozen, said support having substantially line contact with said receptacle and being sufficiently flexible to permit the receptacle to be released from the support by flexing a portion of the support out of the line of contact thereof with said receptacle.

14. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including a shelf for supporting an ice tray, said shelf being sufficiently flexible to permit the tray to be released from the shelf by flexing of the shelf.

15. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including a support for supporting a receptacle adapted to contain a substance to be congealed or frozen, said support having a refrigerant passage in intimate heat exchange relation therewith for chilling the substance within said receptacle, and said support having substantially line contact with said receptacle and being sufficiently flexible to permit the receptacle to be released from the support by flexing a portion of the support out of the line of contact thereof with saidreceptacle.

16. A cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus including a shelf for supporting an ice tray, said shelf having a refrigerant passage in intimate heat exchange relation therewith for freezing ice within the ice tray, and said shelf being sufficiently flexible to permit the tray to be released from the shelf by flexing of the shelf.

17. A cooling unit for household refrigerating purposes and the like in which a freezing temperature is desired for quickly freezing or congealing a substance and in which a higher temperature is desired for cooling a food storage compartment comprising in combination, means providing refrigerating surface for the food storage compartment, said means being arranged to provide a freezing zone within the food storage compartment, a shelf for supporting a receptacle within said freezing zone, a refrigerant conduit formed in said shelf for freezing the contents of the receptacle disposed on the shelf, said shelf having portions of its edges supported by said refrigerating surface but having the greater portion of its edges spaced therefrom for preventing the freezing shelf from being affected by changes in temperature of said refrigerating surface, and means for supplying a volatile refrigerant to said freezing shelf and into direct contact with said refrigerating surface.

18.. An evaporator for refrigerating apparatus comprising, sheet metal portions cooperating with one another to provide a refrigerant passage therebetween, said cooperating sheet metal portions being arranged to provide a portion for cooling air adapted to flow over said evaporator and being formed to provide a plurality of Walls of a sharp freezing zone, a refrigerated shelf adapted to support a receptacle within said freezing zone, said shelf being formed of material separate from and independent of the sheet metal portions of the air cooling portion of the evaporator, said shelf being supported by the walls of said freezing zone but having the greater portion of its edge spaced therefrom to permit a substantial difference in temperature of said air cooling portion of the evaporator relative to the temperature of said shelf, and means for supplying a volatile refrigerant to said shelf and into direct contact with the sheet metal portions of the air cooling portion of said evaporator.

19. An evaporator for refrigerating apparatus comprising, sheet metal portions cooperating with one another to provide a refrigerant passage therebetween, said cooperating sheet/metal portions being arranged to provide a portion for cooling air adapted to flow over said evaporator and being formed to provide a plurality of Walls of a sharp freezing zone, a refrigerated shelf adapted to support a receptacle within said freezing zone, said shelf being formed of material separate from and independent, of the sheet metal portions of the air cooling portion of the evaporator, said' shelf being supported by the walls of said freezing zone but having the greater portion of its edge spaced therefrom to permit a substantial increase in temperature of said air cooling portion of the evaporator without materially affecting the temperature of said shelf, and means for supplying a volatile refrigerant to said shelf and into direct contact with the sheet metal portions of the air cooling portion of said evaporator.

20. An evaporator for refrigerating apparatus comprising, sheet metal portions cooperating with one another to provide a refrigerant passage therebetween, said cooperating sheet metal portions being arranged to provide a portion for cooling air adapted to flow over said evaporator and being formed to provide a plurality of walls of a sharp freezing zone, sheet metal portions cooperating with one another to provide a refrigerant conduit therebetween and arranged within said freezing zone to form a shelf for supand means for supplying a volatile refrigerant to said shelf and into direct contact with the sheet metal portions of the air cooling portion of said evaporator.

21. An evaporator for refrigerating apparatus comprising, sheet metal portions cooperating with one another to provide a refrigerant passage therebetween, said cooperating sheet metal portions being-arranged to provide a portion for cooling air adapted to flow over said evaporator and being formed to provide a plurality of walls of a sharp freezing zone, sheet metal portions cooperating with one another to provide a refrigerant conduit therebetween and arranged within said freezing zone to form a shelf for supporting a receptacle, the sheet metal portions of said shelf being separate from and independent of the sheet metal portions of the air cooling portion of the evaporator, said shelf being supported by the walls of said freezing zone but having the greater portion of its edge spaced therefrom to permit a substantial increase in temperature of said air cooling portion of the evaporator without materially affecting the temperature of said shelf, and means for supplying a volatile refrigerant to said shelf and into direct contact with the sheet metal portions of the air cooling portion of said evaporator.

22, A cooling unit for household purposes and the like in which a freezing temperature is desired for quickly freezing or congealing a'substance and in which a higher temperature is desired for cooling a food storage compartment comprising, means providing refrigerating surfaces for the food storage compartment, said means being arranged to provide walls of a freezing chamber within the food storage compartment, a refrigerated shelf within said freezing chamber adapted to support a receptacle therein, means for supplying a volatile refrigerant to said shelf and into direct contact with the food storage compartment refrigerating surfaces of the cooling unit, said refrigerated shelf being carried and supported at spaced apart points by said freez late and permit only limited flow of heat from said freezing chamber walls to said shelf whereby when said food storage compartment refrigerating surfaces of the cooling unit are defrosted said shelf remains substantially constant in temperature.

23. A cooling element for householdrefrigerating purposes and the like in which a freezing temperature is desired for quickly congealing or freezing a, substance and in which a higher temperature is desired for cooling a food storage chamber comprising in combination, superimposed sheet metal portions having certain parts thereof secured together and certain other parts thereof spaced apart to provide a passage or passages therebetween and providing a substantially U-shaped refrigerated wall member arranged to form a freezing compartment within the food storage chamber, a refrigerated shelf'member located within said freezing compartment and carried by the refrigerated wall member, the carrying arrangement of said shelf member by saidwall member being such that the temperature of one of said members is prevented from substantially affecting the temperature of the other of said members, said shelf member being adapted to support a receptacle for causing the contents of the receptacle to be congealed or frozen, and means for conducting a volatile refrigerant to said freezing shelf member and into direct contact with the cooling surfacev of said refrigerated wall member.

24. A cooling element for household'refrigerating purposes and the like in which a freezing I the carrying arrangement of said shelf by said refrigerated wall being such that an increase in the temperature of said refrigerated air cooling wall to cause defrosting thereof will not substantially affect the temperature of said shelf, said shelf being adapted to support a receptacle thereon for causing thecontents of the receptacle to be congealed or frozen, and means for conducting a volatile refrigerant to said freezing shelf and into direct contact with the cooling surface of said refrigerated air cooling wall.

HARRY F. SMITH. 

